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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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VA preparing Med/Surg updateThe Veterans Affairs Dept. is preparing to revise and update its Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor program, several months after a judge ruled that the program as currently structured does not comply with a law from 2006 ordering that veteran-owned small firms get top consideration in all VA contracting. However, the judge also said compliance with that law was too burdensome for the VA and too dangerous for VA patients’ health, and he allowed the current structure to continue. The VA’s Med/Surg Prime Vendor (MSPV) program relies on large prime vendors for all buying and distribution. Now the VA is preparing its MSPV 2.0 version of the program, issuing a draft Statement of Work and a Request for Information on Dec. 21. The draft states that the VA will identify suppliers and pricing and provide a list of those suppliers to the prime vendors. The prime vendors will establish commercial agreements with those suppliers, and purchase and distribute the supplies. However, the draft does not make clear how the 2006 law for veteran preferences will be enforced. The draft does not explicitly mention preferences for veteran-owned small firms. The Coalition for Government Procurement, in a comment letter, asked the question: “Will there be a preference for service-disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned small businesses?” VA officials were not immediately available to comment. The coalition also noted that the VA formerly relied on the Federal Supply Schedule for its medical and surgical supplies; however, the process for adding new supplies was too slow and too few items were being supplied. The coalition is calling for immediate reforms to fast track the addition of items from the Federal Supply Schedule into VA’s med/surg formulary. The coalition followed up with more than three dozen questions about the proposed MSPV 2.0.
More Information: VA Sources Sought notice:
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